Originally posted by dgray1227: Just watched the Alaska special again. This idea may be difficult to do, but is has been on my mind for a few hours now. I am a truck driver, and once was told by another driver about a trip into Maine. He said he saw a bull moose on the highway during mating season, and blew his air horn. This enraged the moose so much, he charged the truck, and destroyed the front end. The only thing remaining was the engine and frame rail. I am more curious about the moose charging at the sound of the horn, more than what was destroyed.
I actually had a moose charge a full size 1993 Ford Bronco (my wife's pride and joy at the time). My father and I were on a remote road on the Kenai Peninsula heading out to go grouse hunting a couple weeks after Moose season had ended. We'd already surprised a large bull "servicing" a cow a couple miles before. Now we had another large bull trotting down the road in front of us. Eager to get the next 10 or so miles to our hunting area I honked the horn. He turned and charged. I dynamited the brakes and grabbed reverse for about 100 yards before he decided that he'd had enough and wandered off. Fortunately he wasn't so deep in the rut to continue the confrontation. My wife would have been VERY upset if I'd messed up the front clip of that rig!
Hello Mythbuster, I am from maine and I am a huge fan. BUT today i had to get an account just to tell u guys that on the Moose Mayhem portion of the episode... u got ur myth wrong.. in maine we have a high death ratio to moose hittings.. there are orginazations made for people against moose... this is the myths... first off the myth that u did was not for moose but for deer.. the myth is that if u step on the break and then speed up then in that split second u will knock the deer down and run it over or hit it to the side... by stepping on the break u lower the front of the car and then slamming on the gas u raise the front of the car up to hit it higher... now on the moose myth.. its the exact opposite they believe if u step on the gas, which like i said earlier will higher the front of the car, then slam on the breaks, which will lower the front of the car, it will fling the moose higher over the car or knock it to the side... also the height of a moose and deer play a huge part... and the vehicel... i would love to see this on the show.. and if u take my request would u please send me an email and tell me ur going to use it.... and if u would like to come to maine ill show u some real moose... also if u wanna do some black bear myths i can help u all out with that
great show,but living in wisconsin we dont have moose.. But we do have deer,turkeys,and bears o my. so i would like to see that looked at what does more damage and is a car truck or suv the safest to be when hitting a deer turkey or bear.
I just watched the Alaska special, and although I saw a bunch of moose posts that were close, I didn't see what I want to mention.
I grew up in Montana, and the myth about accelerating/braking was a little off from what we were taught.
The "trick" was to brake, lowering the bumper, then accelerate at the last minute, to fling the animal as high as possible.
It doesn't work very well, but is better than getting critter legs shoved through your chest. (oh, yes. It's messy) ...of course, we also were taught that if you are going so fast that you can't out-maneuver a moose, you're going too fast.
As for how to survive the encounter, we used heavy-duty brush guards. "Deer Guards", it usually throws the critter under the wheels, and ruins your suspension. Much better scenario.
i gave the thread a quick scan and didn't see this: Does where you hit the moose matter? (ie. is it better to aim for it's rear?)
im getting this question from a motorcycle course, where our in class intructor told us that if we were on a collision course with a deer (obviously not a moose, but same principal) that we should aim for the rear, and if it's a moose then aim for the middle duck and hope it's not a male. he also suggested that if you willing to it might be safier to lock up the rear tire, and slide the bike on it's side. just thought it'd be cool to see being done
i think in a bike your screwed no matter, but in a car i could see how aiming for the rear or front could help...depending on the way the moose is facing.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: mod_ivy,
This scenario is ably reconstructed by the test. With a highly satisfying thump, our hawser-intestined 'moose' hits the windscreen square on at 45mph. The Saab rocks violently back on its haunches but, thanks to appropriate moose-proofing (reinforced A-pillars and roof leading edge), the on-board crash-test dummies suffer no more than a brush with an errant sun-visor and a thorough dusting of powdered windscreen.
Redo this test with a 1984-1993 saab 900 or 900 convertible (yes, the saab 900 convertible is also tested to the same standards as the hardtop) and you'll find that the moose rolls over the car and though the car is still quite damanged, the passengers are fine.
i want to see a moose rematch with a saab if only to bust this 'euro car moose test' myth.
scroll forward to around 2:59 to see the saab specific reinforcements to complay with the "Moose Test"
I have a 900 Convertible, and though it isn't currently road legal i'm sure that i'd survive in it if i took out a moose [though i'm not about to try it myself lol]
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[though i'm not about to try it myself lol]